


His Black Swan

by Capucine



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 19:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3741463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mai is a ballerina; Zuko is a prince. And they've learned that love is not passion, but instead bandaging feet, making fun of cartoons together, buying fruit tarts, and of course, supporting the other no matter what.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Black Swan

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I wrote to deal with some heavy stuff going down in my life.

Up, up on her toes. A leap that Zuko knew was called a grand jeté, fifth position, fourth position, a pirouette, other parts Zuko didn’t know the name of.

She wore a black tutu that went down past her knees; appropriate, since she was the crow. She raised a leg nearly perpendicular to the floor, satiny black pointe shoes making her feet look longer and yet somehow more beautiful, more graceful.

She wasn’t wearing her mask for the ballet; instead, she would wear it for dress rehearsals and then the grand day itself.

It was magic, watching her dance, but now it was almost over.

Zuko was quick to dart down to the backstage, to stand by the door to her dressing room. He knew she would expect him, that the late hour meant practice was over and it was time for other things.

Mai came along, svelte figure easily visible in the tight leotard. She had that grim look on her face, hardly ever exchanged for a smile except for two occasions: performance, and of course, her boyfriend, Prince Zuko.

“Hello,” Zuko said, smiling.

The flicker of a smile, but then a wince. “Hello.”

She didn’t say, ‘Did you see me out there? Flawless,” but Zuko knew she thought it. He knew he thought it, anyway. He joined her in her dressing room, despite the usual rule that none should enter it.

He helped her unwrap her pointe shoes, and then watched her pale, toned body as she slipped out of the leotard, the tights, and the tutu. Once, he would have been embarrassed to see her naked, or even distracted by the thought of his girlfriend’s naked body. Now, he just saw her.

She had on a black t-shirt and dull red shorts immediately. She gingerly walked back to him, sitting down.

He took her feet in his hands, and he could see that the toe nail of her left big toe had split, slowly bleeding. He sometimes wondered if it was worth it, the way her feet were destroyed by her dance, but then he saw her again, on stage, weightless, graceful, beautiful like nothing else ever could be. He began to wrap the bandages around, and said, “You’re beautiful, you know.”

She flushed, even if her expression did not change. He knew she did not hear it enough. “You’re not bad yourself,” she said, and it wasn’t a flippant reply, but rather a return of the compliment; Zuko knew this by now.

“You want to go hate on Angelina Ballerina?” Zuko said, a smile making its way onto his face. He knew his girlfriend hated the chipper mouse.

“Always,” Mai said, and there was a hint of a smile on the corners of her lips. She drew on her socks, then her shoes, and grabbed her bag.

They held hands as they walked out, and went home to Zuko’s apartment; the security they had to go through to get in was always a pain, but just the fact that they lived together made it worth it.

He noticed she was limping a bit. So, naturally, he swept her up in his arms and went down the rest of the hallway.

The thing he liked about Mai was that she didn’t start kicking or protesting; instead, she sighed, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Somehow, he got the door open, and deposited her on the couch. “Just give me a minute and I’ll get your favorite,” he said with a knowing smile.

Mai laid back on the couch, and Zuko returned with ice packs and a fruit tart. Mai raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you went out for a single fruit tart.”

“No. I went out for a dozen fruit tarts, plus some eggs, milk, your protein shake, and a lot of vegetables.” He gave her a look, as if to say, ‘See? I’ve learned.’

She kissed him on the cheek, then, after applying the ice packs to her feet, she leaned against his chest, and he turned on the show about the mouse ballerina.


End file.
